I normally don’t own anything as fancy as an iPod touch but I have recently had the opportunity to borrow one for a few days. Of course me being me I had to see how well you can watch anime on it. So the first application I downloaded for it was the Crunchyroll app. I did that mostly so I could watch Pretty Cure at my parent’s house but I decided to give the program a full once over with several shows. So how well does this let you legitimately watch anime on a small screen?

I will preface this review with the fact that I regularly watch videos in LOWER THAN OPTIMAL RESOLUTION so I can stream them better as my Internet connection is flakier than a well made croissant. I also occasionally watch fansubs on my PSP. That means I am accustomed to watching things on a smaller screen or in less than 1080p so take everything I say with a grain of salt if you are a major videophile.

I applaud the apps for being inherently simple to use. You start the app the first time by logging in thereby letting you access anything you would normally be able to see with your regular Crunchyroll account. So you have access to all your simulcasts with a lack of commercials if you have a paid account. If there were any shows that were restricted from the app I did not notice them. I watched Deadman Wonderland and Hanasaku Iroha the day they came out. You can browse all the shows alphabetically or pick via by genre, popularity, or see the recently added videos. I did learn that Gaiking: Legend of Daiku-Maryu was on Crunchyroll just my browsing the mecha genre list which surprised me.

The brass tacks in my opinion is how watchable was everything. The subs were readable on everything I saw. In fact Pretty Cure actually looked a bit nicer on the small screen as it is one of the most poorly encoded shows on Crunchyroll. On the downside you should really avoid pausing if you can. Crunchyroll can hiccup normally if you pause in on the PC and it does it even more on the app. They give you a little button to go back 30-seconds  which usually fixes the stream if it freezes or plays without video or sounds. The problem is you never really how long 30-seconds is until you have to rewatch 30-seconds two or three times because you keep pausing to talk to someone while you are watching something.  Also this is not a problem with the app but the iPod touch has about enough battery life to play two or three episodes before it needs a recharge. It makes it fine for a normal commute but not great for a long trip. I assume the iPhone and iPad have a bit better battery life in that regard.

I think the simplest metric of worth in this new digital age for any legitimate product is simple: Is it more convenient than stealing via fansub? In that respect I would say yes. To get a fansub on a portable device like this I have to find & download the sub and then convert it to play on the device. To watch the Crunchyroll app all you need is a wifi hotspot or a wireless plan. Maybe it is easy because I work in Manhattan so finding a wifi signal at a park, Starbucks, or McDonalds is hardly difficult. Your mileage may vary. The ability to just sit down and watch an anime on demand during your lunch break is a great way to keep up with a current season or watch some amazingly long show like Galaxy Express 999 or Fist of the North Star. If you already have a portable device that supports the app there is no reason not to try it out especially since it is free.